Technology Levels (3rd Edition)
__TOC__ The 3rd edition GURPS books and GURPS Prime Directive use an older version of the Tech Level system. For the most part Tech Levels are the same until about TL8 at which point they diverge. Divergent Technology (TL(Historical+Divergent)) was introduced in GURPS Steampunk as a way to emulate worlds where the technology diverged from the normal Tech Level. Example: TL(5+1) is a TL6, with historical Earth-like TL5, but somewhat different TL6 (same effects, different form). For alternate worlds which "look" different. Characters not used to truly divergent technology suffer a -2 penalty. Divergent Technology was also used to signify superscience tech in 3e. Things in the regular Tech Level chart that were made Superscience in 4e are in bold General 3e Tech Level Overview 3e Tech Level by Field Additional Technology Tech Level 0 Sewing needle, drum, rope, fish-hook, saw, spindle Tech Level 1 The plow, papyrus, early forms of non-pictogram writing, mathematics, sundials, the month (lunar cycle defined mathematically), brewing alcoholic beverages, potter's wheel, kilns, tanned hides (boiled or dried leather), woodcutting for fires, sickle with curved handle, file, plane (wood-working), abacus, balance for weighing and measuring, ladder, trumpet (from animal horns), Wheelblades, bulldozer blades and plows for vehicles Tech Level 2 Crop rotation, iron plowshare, heated rooms (heat pumped under tile floor), large-scale glassblowing, irrigation, water clocks, codex, scrolls, rotary locks, wheelbarrow, bellows, soap. Tech Level 6 Helicopter drivetrain, tracked drivetrain, airlock Tech Level 7 Improved suspension for ground vehicles, variable sweep wings for aircraft, aircraft with controlled instability designs, improved brakes, all-wheel steering, roll stabilizers for water vehicles, leg drivetrain, magnetic levitation vehicles, ornithopter drivetrain (aircraft with mechanical flapping wings), ducted propellers for water vehicles, ducted fans for aircraft, tilt rotors, turbofans, ramjets, turbo-ramjets, afterburners Tech Level 10 Bioplas sails for water vehicles, neutrino communicator, sentient computer, neural interface vehicle control: socket interface and neural induction field, artificial gravity unit, Tech Level 11 cannibal nanokits, translation program for robots, bioplastic nanomorphs, disassemblernanobot cloud that breaks down matter Tech Level 14 Living-metal nanomorphs Tech Level 16 Matter transmuter, reality stabilizer Converting GURPS 3e TL to 4e TL David L. Pulver stated several things about the 3e version of Ultra-Tech ("gadgets were pushed forward a TL or so just to give me something useful to prevent the TL11-16 chapters from being too empty!") and how its TL's convert to 4e. "Theoretically and very roughly: upper half 3eTL7 = TL8 3eTL8 = 4eTL9 3eTL9 = 4eTL10 and some TL9-10^ 3eTL10 = 4eTL11 and some TL10-11^ 3eTL11 = 4eTL11 and some TL10-11^ 3eTL12 = 4eTL11 and TL10-11^ 3eTL13 = 4eTL11 and TL11^ 3eTL14 = 4eTL12 and some TL11-12^ 3eTL15 = 4eTL12^ 3eTL16 = 4eTL12^ A few individual items drop or gain in TL." Additional Information Tech Level 8 - Then and Now References * GURPS Classic Basic Set * GURPS Classic Robots * GURPS Classic Vehicles * GURPS Classic Low Tech * GURPS Classic High Tech * GURPS Classic Ultra-Tech * GURPS Classic Ultra-Tech 2 * GURPS Compendium 2 * Technology Levels (Internet Archive) Category:Technology Category:3rd Edition